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Fooled

tn24

tn24

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I tried a midday hunt and on my first call I got a gobble from a small field about a 100 yards below me. I had to set up where I was at because the field was down a steep incline and I was afraid I would be seen so I backed up to the edge of the field behind me. I made a few soft yelps and got an immediate gobble and then it sounded like a full out turkey fight. I waited till the fighting stopped and yelped again. Same thing a gobble and then a fight. Every time I would call he would gobble and then the fighting. This happened four times. After the fourth time I waited about ten minutes just listening and heard nothing so I made a soft couple of yelps and got cut off by a gobble about fifty yards below me. I got ready and after a few minutes of not hearing anything I was about to make a soft purr when I caught movement below and to my right and here came three jakes looking for the hen. About then a gobble came from below and to my left and I moved my gun toward the direction of the gobble and he stepped up over the lip. I saw the beard and settled my bead and pulled the trigger. He flopped back down the incline out of sight. Before I could get up and go after him I heard the three jakes fighting and when I got to where I could see they were all flogging my turkey as he was flopping down the hill. When they saw me me they ran away. When I picked up my turkey I noticed his spurs were short, so I spread his fan and seen it wasn't full, almost but no quite. This turkey had a full booming gobble and a seven and a half inch beard with three-eights inch spurs. Has anyone ever saw a jake with a beard this long? Is there such a thing as a in-betweener?
 
Nothing wrong with that. I've always said if he can play like a big boy, he can die like a big boy. Sounds like you got everything we want in a hunt. Would much rather have that hunt than a bird sneaking in silent.

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Talk yugo get hit is what sometimes happens, I've done it and honestly it happens, you had a great hunt. Don't sweat the rest

I'd rather kill that bird than a silent one. I try not to obviously, but sometimes things happen and it doesn't dimisnh what sounds like an exciting hunt
 
Longest jake beard I've seen personally was 6". But I accidentally killed a jake last year because he gobbled like a boss, flew a river, and came walking up in tall grass. I was mad for a while then I realized that it was one of my best hunts of the year. It just happens every once in a while.
 
Yeah it was a good hunt. I've seen gobbling jakes before. What really fooled me was the beard.
 
Others with more biology background can probably answer better, but I have heard of "tweeners" before. I would think very early hatch from the previous spring.
 
Southern Sportsman":372mwp8m said:
I would think very early hatch from the previous spring.
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My thoughts exactly, late born 2 year old from 2017 would be my guess. I've killed several TN full fan turkeys with 4/8" spurs that had some great beards on them, just a 2 year old.
 
I've seen Jakes with beards in the 6-7" range. They were at 20 yds, so I was able to tell they were Jakes and passed, but when i first saw them at a distance I thought they were toms. Mine never gobbled, or strutted even though they were with hens, so I was suspicious.

Sounds like he played the game, so I wouldn't worry about it. I shot one years ago, that was in full strut and gobbled. Got there and he was a Jake.

Congrats on the bird. Post a pic. I bet most would like to see his beard and spurs. Sounds like a unique Jake.
 
All I kept was his beard and the meat. I wish I had kept the spurs. Here's a picture of the beard.
 
I'd bet that was a really late hatched bird from 2017 that hadn't quite finished moulting the last couple feathers in his fan.

The first bird I killed this year had a shorter beard, slightly longer spurs, but a full fan. Tiny body around 15lbs. He was also probably a late hatch from 2017.

I don't think a bird hatched in 2018 could have grown that long of a beard by this year. He would have hatched in late March or early April. Not impossible, but very unlikely.

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That's almost identical to a fall 1.5 year old. My money is on a August/September hatched Jake from 2017. I've killed a couple like that in the spring
 
I killed one almost just like that Friday morning.
Didn't fool me though, I was turkey hunting and he answered my calls and came in looking and I shot him at the first chance I had. :D
Worked like a charm.
Pretty awesome after not hunting for almost 5 years. :D
 
RUGER":i0f4d40v said:
Didn't fool me though, I was turkey hunting and he answered my calls and came in looking and I shot him at the first chance I had.
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What a novel concept ;) :D !

Congrats!
 

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